


Sanction 4

by makemadej



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Angels & Demons, Alternate Universe - Guardian Angels, Angel Ryan Bergara, Antichrist, College Student Ryan Bergara, College Student Shane Madej, Demon Shane Madej, Fictional Religion & Theology, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Gods, M/M, Protective Ryan, Smut, The Ghoul Boys (Buzzfeed Unsolved)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-20
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:33:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21876697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/makemadej/pseuds/makemadej
Summary: "And what exactly is this mission?""Well," Sara slaps a manilla folder onto the desk, "Zack Evans."Shane raises his eyebrow and grabs the folder. After he speedily flips through it, he hands it over to Ryan and begins to rub his temples. "So, if I read this correctly... God assigned us a babysitting job? Are you shitting me?"
Relationships: Ryan Bergara/Shane Madej, Ryan Bergara/Zack Evans
Comments: 4
Kudos: 44





	1. one

**Author's Note:**

> hi, my name is mickey. let's hope i continue this ? i had no plans for this at all, but it's better for me to make shit up as i go <3

According to Ryan Bergara, humans were the most hopeless creatures that have ever inhabited the Earth. Trust him, he's been to Earth at least one thousand times now, and not much has changed pertaining to the people. Everyone was incredulously mean . When he came to this conclusion, his partner at Sanction Four—as well as his best friend since he started working as a Moderator—Shane Madej laughed in his face and shook his head.

Sanction Four happened to be where both angels and demons worked under God. While it was a chance at redemption for demons like Shane, angels like Ryan worked in Sanction Four for the rewards that followed, which was just praise from God and constant reassurance that they're the good guys. The structure was a little wonky since Sanction Four had only been created several months ago, especially since Satan didn't appreciate God taking his customers, but it was slowly gaining complexity.

The building for Sanction Four sat high above the clouds, though still a few feet below heaven. There were always Moderators roaming in and out of the glass building in their slim-fit uniforms (created by the overly carnal designers in the department of angels), which were extremely uncomfortable in Ryan's opinion. It's latex , damnit. When an angel or demon first gets here, however, their first job is either paperwork or for the miracle hotline (they transfer demands to the Moderators and stay in cubicles all day), so the uniform was a bit looser.

Ryan receives an alert from the miracle hotline as soon as he steps foot outside of his dormitory. He was to go to Earth and detain a man by the name of Dave Peterson, and from Dave's character profile, it seems that he was heavily invested in up-close child pornography. These types of people were typical targets, and also the most aggressive to work with, which is why Shane does most of the work. However, Shane wasn't coming on this mission because, well, Ryan kind of turned off his transmitter so that he would not get an alert.

On their previous mission, Shane had accumulated his efforts to detain one of the humans. Although, the human was a bit more combative than expected, so Shane broke his wrist in the process. It wasn't too big of a deal since he could heal, but, here in Sanction Four, demons took a bit longer than angels to do so—something to do with the amount of power they possess. Besides, Ryan felt as though he had been too dependent on his partner lately anyway. Shane should have a break.

Ryan clicks accept mission below Dave's character profile and is immediately transported onto the streets belonging to Earth.

The uniform never seemed to bother anyone that brushed past him, but it was probably because the humans have seen far worse than a man in a latex suit. When Ryan turns around, he is met with the sight of a small house that had a few bricks missing and several stray cats wandering near it. He catches sight of a rather large man walk past the window and immediately recognizes him as Dave. Great, he's home. Ryan knocks on the front door and keeps his hand on his hip, his fingers tapping against his black belt.

It takes Dave approximately three minutes to open the door, and Ryan tries his best not to pinch his nose when the smell of alcohol and must wafts past. Dave looks messy: his hair is in knots on top of his head, his eyes are bloodshot, and there's a variety of stains on his t-shirt. Most importantly, the man is holding a camera in his hand, which means that Ryan had caught him at a conveniently bad time.

"Mr. Peterson," says Ryan with a smile on his face. "My name is Ricky, the electrician of this neighborhood. It seems to me that a couple of our residents have been having issues with their electricity. Would you mind if I came in and took a look at your circuit box?"

Dave slowly closes the door to hide the camera in his hand. "Electrician," he repeats. "I haven't had any problems with my—"

Suddenly, the lights inside of Dave's house flicker off, causing the man to utter profanity. He looks behind him at a closed door down the hall and rubs his temples before reluctantly opening the door for Ryan, who walks in and immediately drops the smile on his face. "Your circuit box is in the living room, isn't it, Mr. Peterson?"

Dave is following closely behind Ryan, becoming less and less fearful of his presence. He was carrying a gun. Bold . Whenever Ryan would go on missions, the humans did not see him as a threat due to his height (which, by the way, is completely average). "Well, hurry the fuck up, would ya?"

"Of course, Mr. Peterson." Ryan opens the circuit box, feeling eyes trained on his back. "Dave, I've heard a little about you. Mostly about your job."

"Excuse me—?"

"Is there a child in the other room, Dave?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Before Dave could hold the gun against Ryan's head, the angel grabs it and dismantles it in lightning speed, the bullets rolling against the wooden floor. Dave is looking at Ryan incredulously, slowly backing away and feeling around for any object to use. Great , Ryan thinks as he steps closer, the heel of his black boots causing the floor to creak. He wants to fight. They always want to fight .

"Now, Dave, I don't want to fight you. If you could be as kind as to surrender so that I could call the cops anonymously." Ryan barely misses the picture frame tossed at his face, and the edge slashes his cheek. "That wasn't very pleasant."

"What the hell are you?" Dave inquires fearfully. "Who brought you here? I can pay you more than whatever they're paying ya now."

"Pay me?" Ryan tilts his head to the side, his hand resting on the knock-out mist located on his belt. "This isn't about money, Dave. This is about the greater g—" In the middle of Ryan's monologue, a black portal slowly opens up beside him, causing his attention to become diverted. Oh no . "Shoot."

In a split second, Dave was tackling him to the ground and drawing his fist back, though his elbow was grabbed roughly by the figure behind him before he could do damage. Shane stands tall above him, a clear look of agitation present on his face as he effortlessly throws Dave off of Ryan's body. Dave's head and back smacks against the wall, and he's instantly unconscious. Just like that. Despite looking ready-to-kill with viridescent eyes, Shane looked very handsome today... and maybe now's not the time to dwell on the fact that he has a crush on his best friend, but it's all he can think about as he stands on his own two feet.

"Fancy seeing you here, Shane." Ryan says. "How's your wrist?"

"It's going to be broken again after I punch you in the face."

"Don't be so mean."

Shane exasperatedly runs a hand down his face. "You turned my transmitter off and thought that I wouldn't find you. Do you peg me for a dumbass? You know that you're not supposed to go on missions alone. What the hell were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that you need to give yourself a break." Ryan says defensively. "Besides, I was handling the situation just fine before you came!"

"You were monologuing ."

"I was trying to change his mind about fighting me!"

"Guys like this don't give two shits about your monologues, Ryan."

Times like these were when Ryan really wished that he could curse. "Stop yelling at me."

"I'm not!" Shane shouts. "I just want you to be a little smarter."

The sound of coughing cuts between their conversation, as Dave has decided to come to. "You shouldn't take any shit from that evil-looking guy, Ricky. You're way too beautiful... curvy... have you ever considered porn? I could get you into the industry instead of working with this guy. All you have to do is let me go."

Ryan walks over to Dave and promptly spritzes him with the knock-out mist, causing him to instantly fall asleep. "My fake name even sounds incredibly sleazy coming out of the mouths of people like him."

"I let the kid go and called the police during your little exchange. Let's go."

"Do you enjoy bossing me around all the time?" Ryan asks with his arms crossed over his chest.

Shane opens up another portal in the living room, refusing to meet his partner's gaze. "Can't say that I don't enjoy it."

It's a joke, but the strings of his heart are being tugged on as he steps through the portal and into the break room of Sanction Four. Shane was a very aloof person, so Ryan really could never tell what he was thinking. The most that Ryan has gotten from Shane was that when he was human, his name had been C.C. and he had gotten into deep shit before he died. What said deep shit was, Ryan didn't know, but he was sure that Shane would tell him when he was ready.

"I'm sorry for going without you." Ryan says finally. "I was just worried."

They don't fight often, but when they do, Ryan is usually the first to say sorry. Shane is usually more reluctant, willing to brush everything off as a joke or ignore it. It's typical of a demon to behave this way—emotionally constipated, as Shane puts it—but Ryan believes that he'll get his best friend to break out of his shell one day. Or, at least for him.

"It's fine." Hesitance. "I'm sorry for yelling at you."

Ryan's heart does that weird tugging thing again. "It's okay, Shane."

"I'm gonna—" Shane jerks his thumb toward the door. "I'll be back. Wait here."

"Yeah, okay."

When Shane leaves the room, Ryan collapses onto the chair nearby and lets out a sigh he had been holding in. It seems like he always forgets how to breathe whenever Shane was around, which is probably because he does. 

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the gayest boy in the sanction," came a voice from beside Ryan. "Told Shane that you're in love with him yet?"

Ryan is so used to Brent appearing out of nowhere that he doesn't even flinch anymore. Brent was also an angel, but Ryan likes to refer to him as the literal devil incarnate. He was the type of guy to take every little thing with a grain of salt, roaming through life with this sort of optimistic energy that could brighten, possibly, anyone's day—just not Ryan's. Ever since Brent came to the conclusion that Ryan had a crush on Shane, he has been unbearable. Nagging constantly about it, and even once bringing it up to the CEO, Sara Rubin.

"The day that God finally decides that he doesn't need you here, but instead cleaning the toilets in heaven, will be the day that I'm truly happy."

"Harsh!" Brent says, then starts to spin in his chair. "Heard that you tried to leave Shane behind for a mission."

"How did you—"

"I know everything! I also know that he left a storm behind when he left to go find you. He scared the living shit out of most of the angel trainees."

Ryan taps his fingers against his thigh. "You have a cursing problem."

"And you have a stick up your ass."

Before Ryan is able to defend himself, Shane walks back into the break room holding a black velvet box in his hand. For some unknown reason, Shane's entire face is red but quickly returns to its normal color. Upon seeing Brent, the box immediately disappears into thin air, causing Ryan to raise an eyebrow. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Shane inquires casually, then clears his throat. "Hey, Brent."

"Shane!" Brent stands up to wrap his arms around the demon, who appears stiff in the embrace. Good. "How's your wrist, buddy?"

"Just fine."

Ryan still wants to ask about the black box, but he supposes that he would do so later.

Luckily for Ryan and Shane, their transmitters begin to ring, indicating that they're needed by the CEO. Mostly lucky for Ryan, because he wasn't sure how long it would take before Brent exposed his feelings to Shane. He waits for Shane to say goodbye to Brent before they leave the break room together, walking so closely that they kept brushing past each other. Why it makes Ryan blush so much, he isn't sure.

However, he was sure that Sara called them in to yell about partnerships and communication, but she looks joyous upon their arrival. "Ryan! Shane! My odd pairing."

Sara was assigned the Assistant of the Lord as soon as Sanction Four started because she had always been God's favorite. Aside from that, Sara was also a lenient angel, which meant that no one ever hesitated to follow her orders. She was as tenacious as Ryan wanted to be (or, wished he could be). Whenever she spoke, everyone listened, which is why Ryan immediately stands up straighter when she addresses him.

"Ms. Rubin." Ryan nods.

Shane rolls his eyes. He had never been one for formalities. "What's up, Sara?"

"Well, let's keep this short," says Sara, crossing her arms against her chest. "I have a mission for you two. It should take a couple of months, and it requires for you to be on Earth."

"Months?" the boys ask simultaneously; however, only Shane continues to speak. "Why the hell—"

"Language," Sara warns.

"—are we staying in that godforsaken place—"

"Mr. Madej."

"—for a couple of months?"

The pinched expression on Sara's face did not go unnoticed by Ryan, who suddenly grips Shane's arm (by _goodness_ , he was strong) in an attempt to silence him. It works, as Shane breathes out through his nose and sinks into his chair with his lips pursed.

After shooting Ryan an appreciative look, Sara continues, "Listen. These were God's direct orders. You two are apparently the greatest moderators on the team, and if that's true, then this mission shouldn't take longer than it has to."

Ryan starts beaming. "God said that?"

"Yes, God said that." Sara replies flatly. "You should teach your demon boyfriend here how to be more grateful. God doesn't just compliment anyone."

The term ' _boyfriend_ ' causes Ryan's cheeks to turn a vicious red, whereas Shane doesn't even react to it. Instead, he blinks and skeptically asks, "And what exactly is this mission?"

"Well," Sara slaps a manilla folder onto the desk, "Zack Evans."

Shane raises his eyebrow and grabs the folder. After he speedily flips through it, he hands it over to Ryan and begins to rub his temples. "So, if I read this correctly... God assigned us a _babysitting_ job? Are you shitting me?"

Suddenly, Sara snaps, and Shane's lips are glued shut. When Shane attempts to speak again, it comes out as a low mumble, causing Ryan to shift uncomfortably in his chair. This is what usually happened when they had to meet with an authority figure. Shane was just not the type to keep quiet about the things he found blatantly ridiculous.

"Much better," Sara sighs out. "According to God, Zack Evans needs to be guarded. While I am not sure exactly why _this_ human needs our attention, I will not be the one that questions God's orders. We'll be sending you two down to Earth in two days. Unless Shane would like someone else to replace him as your partner." The way Shane squints his eyes at her could have been categorized as murderous. "I didn't think so. Take the folder with you on your way out."

"Yes, ma'am," Ryan responds, gripping the folder in his hands. "Thank you for this opportunity."

Fury is radiating off of Shane's body when they step out of Ms. Rubin's office. He has his fists clenched and his eye color has alternated to its customary black, which often either frightens Ryan or, well, does the _opposite_. Right now, it's doing the latter. At first, Ryan isn't sure if he should speak, so he doesn't. They walk in silence until Shane abruptly stops on the walkway leading to their dorms, causing Ryan to stop as well.

"What is it?" Ryan asks, concerned.

"You're doing the thing again."

"The thing?"

Shane cracks a small smile. "When you sense that I'm upset, you do that thing that angels do. When they're able to make the room brighter or the people around them feel calmer. I can't tell if you're ever aware that you're doing it."

"I promise that I'm not." Ryan softens his voice. "But I'm glad it's making you feel better."

"Wanna stay in my room and talk about this dumbass job we were assigned to do?"

"Yeah, sounds cool." He sounds so calm on the outside, but his heart is beating entirely too fast. "So, remember that velvet box you were holding in the break room? What was that about?"

"What box?"

"Shane."

"You have an eye, Ryan. That's what I hate the most about you."

"Could you stop being cryptic for one second?" The statement seems to convince Shane to be sensible, because the velvet box from earlier suddenly appears in Ryan's hand. "What is this?'

"Open it."

At first Ryan is hesitant, then he slowly removes the lid from the box and breaks into a smile. It's a golden bracelet engraved with his own initials, and it's sparkling. By goodness, Shane had gotten him something... and, well, this hasn't happened before. "This is... what's this for?"

"Happy birthday?" Shane says as he scratches the back of his head.

"My birthday was two months ago, liar."

"Fine. You caught me." Ryan silently waits for Shane to start talking again. "It's just a thanks for putting up with my bullshit. I got a... I got a matching one, but it's in my drawer right now because I didn't want to make this any more gay than it already is. Maybe it's true what they about this god-forsaken place: really rehabilitates a demon. Anyway, let's—"

Before Shane can change the subject, Ryan engulfs the man in a hug. It shocks the demon, for it takes him a few seconds to fully comprehend what had just occurred; accordingly, just as Ryan is about to pull back, Shane embraces him in a way that he never has. It's killing Ryan. Goodness, it's killing him. If he had the option to stay in this position—or at least any position at all—with Shane, then he'd stay like this forever. Even if Shane only meant to be friendly.

Shane finally breaks the silence after realizing that they were being eyed by a few others passing by. "All right, little guy."

"Thank you." Ryan whispers. "This was very thoughtful of you."

"Yeah?" Shane clears his throat, then pulls Ryan away by gripping onto the angel's shoulders. He never was the affectionate type, especially if it was public. "Wanna go to my room now? It's getting pretty hot out here."

Although the temperature never changes in Sanction Four, Ryan nods his head and grins, "Sure."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Ryan, you've barely touched your Baja Blast. Is everything alright?" 
> 
> Ryan jumps, startled, in his chair to look Quinta--another angel in the sanction--in the eye. "Oh, yeah. Just thinking about Earth."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some lore for my imaginary world.  
> here r the jobs u can have at sanction 4
> 
> (PAPERWORK) /// looking at miracles and deciding which are worth answering to. hand in hand with magic.  
> (MIRACLE HOTLINE) /// for those who work with magic. they can only use it for good and bad, but nothing too extreme.  
> (INTERVENTION) MODERATORS: “Good Cop Bad Cop” /// angel & demon visit a criminal/malicious character and try to make them see the light [if they don’t, then the demon takes care of it]  
> (TRAINERS) /// delivers messages from both god and the devil and trains newcomers. usually, the angels and demons become paired at this point.  
> (ASSISTANT OF THE LORD) AOL /// like the CEO but gets to boss people around more & stays by god to follow through orders. hard to get this position.

There was one more day left until Ryan had to leave for Earth with Shane. 

While Shane was, _of course_ , pissed and made sure that everyone knew by publicly brooding, Ryan was extremely anxious and quieter than usual around the office. The idea of being on Earth for longer than a few days was enough to send him into hysterics. In the files, it said that Zack Evans was a college student--Ryan wasn't even sure if he went to college when he was alive since it was so long ago. 

"Ryan, you've barely touched your Baja Blast. Is everything alright?" 

Ryan jumps, startled, in his chair to look Quinta--another angel in the sanction--in the eye. "Oh, yeah. Just thinking about Earth."

"I heard about that," responds Quinta after taking a sip of his Baja Blast. "It must be pretty darn important if God assigned you guys to Earth for a few months. Do you think that if you succeed, you'll move up in the rankings like Sara?"

That thought alone gave Ryan chills. Being able to move up in rankings is something that he wanted since he got to Sanction 4. If you asked any angel in Sanction 4 what their end goal was, the answer would be to personally serve God. However, the thought of not being able to work beside his best friend anymore made Ryan patient for that day to come. After all, he enjoys his current job and thinks it's filling. There isn't much he would change about it--except maybe the plethora of creeps he runs into on Earth.

It certainly was better than working as Trainers or with the Miracle Hotline. 

"Maybe, but I'm not really thinking about that." Ryan says, "Not sure if I'll be a good human."

"Oh! Well, being a human is super easy. Just be really selfish and individualistic." Quinta grins as she points at Ryan with the cup of Baja Blast, "You'll be fine. How's that boyfriend of yours doing? I've been seeing him skulking around the place and stinking up the sanction with his bad vibes. Is he also worried about Earth?"

Ryan places his chin on top of his fist. "He thinks God sent us on a suicide mission. You know how Shane is about authority."

"You're not even gonna mention--"

"I know that if I say that he isn't my boyfriend, you'll just argue with me."

"Fair," Quinta says with a roll of her eyes. "You better tell Shane you like him now before he finds some cute human to dote on."

 _That_ was enough to make him sick. 

Like clockwork, Shane walks into the breakroom with his murderous aura following close behind him. Naturally, it lightens at the sight of Ryan.

"Shane!" Quinta exclaims happily. "We were just talking about you." 

Ryan quickly interjects before she can explain what the topic was, "Yeah, about how we're going to be on Earth soon. What have you been up to today, bud?"

Shane motions at himself, "Sulking."

"So I see."

Quinta stretches out her arm to offer Shane her drink, "Baja Blast?"

Shane takes a seat at the table and grabs the drink out of Quinta's hand to have a sip. His aura becomes lighter.

"I don't wanna be on Earth," Shane says in between gulps. "Humans are annoying. And smelly. And gross. And annoying."

"Me neither, Shane, but it's _God's_ orders," Ryan whispers, just in case God was watching over them. "If you don't wanna go, we could always have someone take your place. I know that this has been stressing you out. And you know how I know? At least one person from every department has come up to me to ask if I could do something about your mood. I hate to say this, but you're stinking up the sanction with your mood, Madej. 

"As if I would let you go with someone else," Shane scoffs. "I can't believe you're so calm about this."

Quinta sucks her teeth before speaking, "Oh, he is not. He didn't even drink any of the Baja Blast!" 

For a second, Shane looks concerned.

"Oh, please shut up about this Baja Blast." Ryan groans out. "Shane, I am not calm about this, but I also know that I can't turn this down. You can, of course as a demon, but I cannot. It's like... my civic duty. I have no choice but to do it."

Quinta nods. "If Ryan were to turn this down, he would surely be the talk of the sanction."

"So?" Shane adds with his eyebrow raised. "Who cares what other angels think?"

" _We do_." Quinta and Ryan say synchronously. 

It was easy for Shane to not care. After all, demons didn't have too many expectations in Sanction 4 other than to just _be_ _good_. There were a select few demons that hoped to rehabilitate and be reborn again as an angel, but not many. Shane just wanted to exist. 

"Whatever." Shane shrugs his shoulders then turns to Ryan. "Hey, Quinta. Would you be able to leave Ryan and me alone for a second?"

Ryan's blood runs cold. _Alone_? _Oh goodness, is this a marriage proposal_?

It's almost like Quinta can sense it because before she gets up, she pinches Ryan on the thigh and smiles. "No problem. I need to get back to filing before the others start to worry anyway. If I don't see you guys later tonight, I'm wishing you lots of luck on your mission."

"Thanks, Quinta. See you soon." Shane responds for both of them, noticing Ryan's frozen state. "Well, Ryan, I just wanted to talk about something before we leave tomorrow. I've been thinking a lot about--"

Conveniently, their transmitters begin to beep, indicating an active mission on Earth. _Great_ , another creep to detain on what was supposed to be their day off.

Shane huffs as he looks down at his transmitter and stands, "We'll talk about this later."

"Right," Ryan manages to say, then clears his throat to read the transmitter's file while Shane opened up a portal. "John Goldbloom. It says he kidnapped a college student."

"And we're gonna be college students tomorrow. What a beautiful induction. You know, that could've been us."

Before Ryan can scold Shane for his insensitivity, they're walking through the portal and onto Earth. 

* * *

They end up in John's living room. 

Plastered on the walls were upside-down crosses, and words that were written in what appeared to be blood. From the corner of Ryan's eye, he could see Shane visibly wince. It was very rare that they had to deal with a human that worshipped the Antichrist, but when they did, Shane always visibly grew uncomfortable. However, Shane seemed especially spooked. The sight of the living room made Ryan feel a bit nauseous as well, though he tried to focus on finding out where John was located. 

"Do you wanna split up? It's a pretty big house." Ryan asks his partner, who nods his head silently in response. "Beep me if something goes wrong. Be careful with your arm."

"You too."

Ryan rolls his eyes and takes off into the next room over, carefully observing his surroundings as to not be attacked from behind. "Come on, where are you?"

There are spots of blood on the floor that lead into the kitchen, causing Ryan to become guarded. It stops at the sink, and Ryan audibly gasps when he sees a single finger sitting inside of it. Before Ryan can turn around when he senses another presence, someone grabs a handful of his hair and slams his head against the faucet, his vision becoming slightly blurred as the person then tosses him onto the kitchen floor. 

"Hello, weak little angel." 

The voice doesn't belong to John Goldbloom. There's someone else standing above Ryan with glowing red eyes and battered sable wings, the feathers scattering across the floor. It's a demon. It makes sense, being that their strength was unlike anything Ryan has ever felt before from a human. From the looks of it, the demon wasn't from Sanction 4 either; he wasn't in any sort of uniform. Instead, he wore a torn t-shirt and ripped black slacks. Overall, his appearance was almost feral. 

"That wasn't very nice of you," Ryan says, slowly reaching for his transmitter to beep Shane. "Hasn't anyone ever taught you manners?"

"Silly last words," answers the demon, then attempts to lunge at Ryan, who quickly rolls over and jumps onto his own two feet. 

"Listen, I'm not sure what you're doing on Earth, but I'm not here for you. I'm here for John Goldbloom." Ryan states calmly. "But if you want to make this difficult..."

Ryan kicks out his leg and strikes the stranger in the back of his knees, causing him to crumble onto the floor. In a flash, Ryan is hovering over the demon with a gun filled with holy water, and a drop of it makes the demon's skin sizzle upon impact. He didn't usually have to use the water gun because he never had to battle demons when he was on Earth to do missions--he also didn't want to make Shane uncomfortable. 

"Is that a demon?" Shane inquires from the doorway, holding up an unconscious man by his collar. Most likely John. 

"Oh, is this your partner?" the demon asks, smirking up at Ryan, whose eyes hadn't left him. "He's pretty handsome."

"Yes, this is a demon" Ryan responds coldly. "Care to give us your name?"

The demon looks over at Shane and sucks his teeth. "I see you got to John before I could. Did you get to the kid?"

"What do you mean before you could?" Shane asks suspiciously, then casts John against the wall. "And what do you know about the kid?"

"Guess he got away, tsk. You guys aren't very good at your jobs. I mean, what else is there to expect from idiots that work at Sanction 4?" 

Ryan had a ton of questions to ask the strange demon but decided to focus on Shane. "What happened, Shane? Is the kid okay?"

"I found John doing some sort of Antichrist ritual in the bedroom, but it seems like the kid must have gotten away either before or after we got here. There were lots of bloodstains, and I found some rope that could've been used to tie the kid up. It's hard to tell what exactly went on in here." Shane replies, then kneels beside the demon while spinning handcuffs around his pointer finger. "But I feel like he could tell us something." 

The cuffs that Shane was holding weren't just regular cuffs. If placed on an angel or demon, it could strip away their power and make them as weak as a human until taken off. Ryan was briefly reminded about the fantasies he'd have about Shane when he saw them. Now he had to force himself to remove the image from his mind again. 

"I never give away information for free," says the stranger with furrowed eyebrows.

Shane blinks and cuffs the demon with lightning speed. "Then you can take it up with the council. Let's go, Ry."

"Huh?" Ryan jumps, then blushes furiously at his lack of composure. "Oh, yeah."

He clicks a few buttons on the transmitter before opening up a portal to Sanction 4. In a flash, the strange demon grabs Ryan's ankle with a grip so weak, his hand immediately falls against the tiled floors of the kitchen. "Please, don't take me back there."

"Think you should've thought of that before you slammed my head against the faucet," Ryan adds dully. 

Shane pulls the stranger up by the collar of his shirt and observes his facial expression. "You've been to Sanction 4?" 

"Of course I have," he replies with agitation. "I used to work there. I _left_."

" _Left_?" Ryan repeats. "No one just leaves Sanction 4. You're either dismissed or promoted." 

"Yeah, well, I was one of the few that didn't want to put up with God's bullshit tasks anymore. So I left." 

Ryan found it hard to believe, and he looked to his best friend with the expression of ' _are you buying this_?' However, Shane looks the slightest bit awed by what the demon had said. The entire interaction made Ryan uncomfortably shift and walk through the portal, an indication for Shane to follow behind him.

* * *

"Reese," Sara states listlessly. "I didn't expect to see you around here again."

" _You know him_?" Ryan and Shane both ask, a bit shocked. 

The demon they picked up from John's home sat in a chair across from Sara--still in handcuffs--looking weak and frightful. "Sara, looking delightful as ever. I didn't know they moved you up in the ranks. Th-that's sick."

"Well, you weren't around to see it." Sara crosses her arms against her chest and leans back in her chair. "And you said you found him lurking in a human's house you were sent to detain?"

She was talking to Ryan. 

Ryan clears his throat and nods, "Yeah, he wouldn't give us any information as to why he was there. He just told us that he used to work here. Of course, I didn't believe him at first, but--"

"He was my partner."

" _Partner_?" Shane and Ryan utter at the same time again.

"You guys spend way too much time together," Sara says. "I actually haven't seen or heard from him in several years. I'm surprised that he's still alive."

"Well, none of us are alive if you wanna be specific--" Reese adds with a lighthearted chuckle, which warrants a silent room. "Tough crowd. Well, I've been working too, Rubear. Just not for God."

" _Rubear_?" Shane and Ryan can't help but synchronize once more, causing Sara to look at them with disdain. " _Sorry_."

Sara shuts her eyes and begins to furiously tap her transmitter, probably alerting the higher-ups about Reese's presence in Sanction 4. "Address me formally or not at all, Reese. Before I send you away to a cell for the rest of the day for leaving Sanction 4 without mention, did you want to provide any information? Perhaps maybe who you're working for?"

"Afraid you won't like the answer," Reese responds. "Plus, I am bound by contract not to say anything. In fact, if I did, I would burn up into flames in your office chair. It looks brand new too, so I wouldn't wanna get dust all over your things."

Shane jumps in, "He must be working for some rogue demon. The type of contract he signed is considered illegal here."

"Or, maybe _Satan_?" Sara inquires, searching for a change in expression on Reese's face. "What does he have you on Earth doing, Reese?"

"I. Am. Bound. By. Contract." Reese answers plainly. "Don't you think that if I wanted to answer to a bunch of angels and an obedient demon--" Ryan could see Shane clench his fists from the corner of his eye. "--I would still be working here? Now, send me away to the cell, or whatever you have to do. I'm done talking."

For a second, there is silence. 

It is only broken when Sara goes, "Very well then," and snaps her fingers so that Reese vanishes from the office. 

Finally, words tumble out of Ryan's mouth. "I have a bunch of questions."

"Forget it. None of it has to do with your mission tomorrow."

Shane throws his hands in the air, looking befuddled. "I think this has everything to do with our mission tomorrow! First of all, we try to do our jobs and get ambushed by a 'rogue demon,' then he denies us information as to why he was roaming Earth--you know, where we're supposed to be for the next few months? Second of all, if there's a chance he's working for Satan, then he definitely can't be the only one. Third of all, there could be a human out there that has seen Reese. We didn't get to save the kid from John because he escaped before we got there. What if Reese came in contact with him?"

"Shane..." Sara warns.

" _No_ ," Shane snaps. "You know something. And if we don't get any intel as to what the hell is going on soon, we're coming back early. I'm not going to risk putting our lives in danger for a babysitting job when there could be a threat bigger than us down there."

At first, Ryan clenches his eyes shut, preparing for Sara to zip his mouth shut like she did the day before. Instead, Sara sighs out, "you're right."

"And if you try to zip my mouth again, so help me Sara--" Shane stops mid-sentence, relaxing his shoulders. "I am?"

"Yes, you are," Sara responds quietly. "I care about both of you. The last thing I would want to do is have you in a space where you would be in danger. I am going to try everything in my power to figure out what's going on, but right now, I have nothing. I'll make sure that you guys have updated equipment for your travels tomorrow. Most importantly, I will keep in contact."

"Okay," Ryan breathes out, looking to Shane for confirmation. "Okay?"

" _Yeah_ ," Shane says dimly, then leaves the office.

When Shane is gone, Sara puts her head in her hands and laughs. "I see so much of Reese in Shane. It's actually crazy."

Those words did nothing to soothe the anxiety Ryan has had since they left John's home. Could Shane end up like Reese? A rogue demon who signs illegal contracts to stay afloat? Would he end up eventually leaving Ryan for a riskier lifestyle than the one given by Sanction 4? The thought of it made his heart wither. 

Sara seems to sense the shift in Ryan's demeanor, as she quickly speaks up, "But, Shane is much different. Don't worry, Ryan. Everything will be fine for the trip tomorrow. I just need to make some calls."

Man, Ryan really regrets not drinking that Baja Blast earlier. 


End file.
